life and duty
by Picup
Summary: For her entire life, Umi is taught that a Sonoda's duty is their life for their Exalt. She wholeheartedly takes her duty with pride and determination, not knowing that maybe risking her life for the Exalt's daughter is not because of her duty but for something else...


A/N: Written for the KotoUmi pair with the prompt 'I thought you were dead.' You can say it is a love live AU!fire emblem style but it could also be seen as a fantasy!Love Live AU, it just takes elements from Fire Emblem (pretty much weapons, magic, etc.). Knights and Monsters is a companion piece to this, so please give that a read if you enjoyed this!

As always, thanks for your support and please enjoy! ( ´ ▽ ` ) ﾉ

* * *

 _"Remember Umi, a Sonoda's duty is always to protect the Exalt and her family. Even if it means to lose our life."_

Umi remembers the heavy words her Father says to her when she watches him shoot arrows from his bow in the courtyard. She knew when she was of age, she would join the ranks of their country's knights to protect the Exalt. But being of the Sonoda family, she is held on a much higher level with a lot more pressure.

She burdens this duty wholeheartedly–her Father and Mother very much loved their duty and loved their Kingdom that she too would. Even if it meant spending hours training instead of playing with the other village children; even if it meant taking away her happiness for the sake of a royal family she did not even know.

On one of her training days, her Father asks her to bring one of the horses from the stable out so he could show her how to ride. When she goes to the stables, she passes by the Pegasus Stable, and pauses when she hears a soft voice singing a happy medley. She pokes her small head in through the stable doors and her eyes set on a girl about her age, combing the white mane of one of the pegasus.

Umi's eyes linger for a bit longer, entranced by the small, ashen-gray haired girl grooming the pegasus. She nearly screams when a snort is heard from next to her–one of the pegasus in the stall gives away her position at the front. The girl looks up in surprise, nearly dropping the comb. Amber eyes meet, and they're both silent.

The girl brings a finger up to her lips, gesturing to be silent. Umi is confused until the girl brings up her hand, and she can see a symbol–the same mark that those of the royal family possess. She blinks, realizing that she is _spying_ on someone from the royal family, and becomes flustered.

"Ah, I, um…" Umi starts, but a ' _shhh!_ ' cuts her off and the girl smiles at her. It takes Umi a second to put two and two together before she slowly nods, and raises her index finger to her own lips. She will keep quiet about the girl and pretend that nothing was seen.

She remembers that her Father is still waiting for her and with a small bow, she leaves quickly and quietly with a smile on her face.

* * *

Umi meets the girl again when they're both a bit older, when Umi is of age to join the knights. She finds her Father in the courtyard talking to a woman with long, ashen-gray hair pulled back in a low pony tail. She sees a resemblance in this woman to the girl she met years before.

Her Father notices her approaching them and gestures for Umi to come over. "Umi, please introduce yourself to the Exalt."

Umi immediately straightens her back and bows, "At your service, my Exalt." She says before she stands up tall, resting her hands in the small of her back. The Woman smiles, "At ease, knight." Her voice is warm and caring, helping Umi ease up a little.

"Your Daughter is beautiful, Sonoda. I welcome her into our ranks."

Her Father smiles as he tilts his head forward, "thank you for your praise, my Exalt. She is the same age as the Princess, making her an excellent knight to her and your family."

Umi looks in between her Father and the Exalt curiously, the Princess?

"She will be, let me call Kotori over." The Exalt turns around, before she calls out the name that Umi doesn't recognize. Her eyes slightly widen though, when familiar amber eyes meet. She opens her mouth to say something, but the girl, she met many years before, winks and places her index finger on her lips.

Umi chuckles quietly and smiles before she formally introduces herself to the Princess that she will serve with her life.

* * *

Years have passed since Umi's induction into the Exalt's knights and she climbs high into the ranks despite being a young recruit. She holds the Sonoda name with pride and becomes one of the best archers among the Exalt's knights.

She stands tall in the archery range early in the afternoon, pulling back her bowstring, taking a deep breath and steady aim, before she releases it. It hits dead in the center, and a small smile curls up on the corner of her lips.

"Fifty."

Umi lowers her bow and steps onto the range, gathering her arrows that were embedded in the target. She places her hand on her last arrow and a familiar hand suddenly appears on top of hers, making her stop pulling the arrow out. "… Princess."

She doesn't need to look over to know that the Princess is pouting at that. "Mou, Umi, it's just us, you don't need to be so formal."

Amusement sparks in Umi's eyes as the hand on top of hers tightens, and she pulls the arrow out. She turns to face the Princess as she pulls back her hand now, " _Princess._ "

The Princess' eyes narrow, "Ko-to-ri."

"Milady." Umi chuckles as Kotori punches her in the shoulder, "Never mind. You've always been like that." Kotori pouts, and Umi secretly savors the look. They walk together to where she stood before, talking about this and that.

Umi drops her arrows into her quiver before she realizes the time of day and looks at the Princess by her side, "Shouldn't you be with Captain Ayase for your lessons?"

She watches Kotori suddenly stop, and Umi raises a brow. "… Milady?"

"Umi! Shhh!" Kotori places an index finger against Umi's lips as she looks around worriedly, "Eli can wait for a bit, besides, it's not like I'm skipping out on my _entire_ lesson." She hastily explains. Umi continues her ' _really_ ' look to Kotori, and the Princess sighs as she pulls her hand away.

"I never get to spend any time with you. For someone who is my Knight, we never see each other." She mumbles, looking down at the ground and flushing prettily. Umi blinks as she shuffles awkwardly and pulls her gaze away from the Princess.

 _"A Sonoda's duty is always to protect the Exalt and her Family. Even if it means to lose our life."_

Her Father's words echo in her mind and she hesitantly looks at Kotori, who is staring at the ground with a pout. Umi smiles a little, her hand coming up and taking a lock of her ashen-gray hair, and presses it against her lips in a gentle kiss. "Even if we're apart, I will forever be your Knight, to you, the Exalt, and the rest of the royal family."

"Because it's your duty as a Sonoda, right?" When Umi looks at Kotori, there's something that she does not know within the amber eyes staring at her. Umi opens her mouth to reply, but the words seem to be lost.

It is because of her duty, right?

"Princess Kotori!"

Umi immediately drops Kotori's hair and steps away from the Princess. They both look frantically around, and a certain, blonde female with her hair tied up in a loose pony tail approaches them. Her cerulean eyes narrow at the closeness between the two. "… Princess, your lessons?"

"A-Ah, yes, of course, my apologies, Eli." Kotori looks at Umi with a small smile before she rushes to Eli's side. Umi just nods to the Princess, and looks at Eli, bowing stiffly, before excusing herself to clean up her archery equipment.

"Sonoda. You're helping today. You'll be my training dummy."

Umi stops in her tracks, but when she turns around, Eli is already leaving to the training grounds. She blinks and looks at Kotori, who smiles apologetically, before following after Eli quickly.

The blue-haired Knight chuckles softly as she grabs her archery equipment and follows after Eli and Kotori. At least she would be spending more time with the Princess.

* * *

War breaks out and their country is suddenly invaded. Their forces are pushed back from the borders, and it is extremely tense in the main kingdom. Umi stands off to the side as the council discuss plans on how to defend their Kingdom.

So far, all plans has been pointing to asking a neighboring country for help. However, the neighboring country is skeptical, so a mere messenger will not work. Heated debate goes back and forth and Umi could only look helplessly at the Exalt who is in deep concentration.

"Mother, if I may?"

Kotori speaks up from the Exalt's side, and everyone quiets down and turns their attention to the Princess. Umi can sense determination coming from her. "I will be the messenger, I can fly there overnight."

Silence fills the room and tension rises.

It takes a full three seconds before chaos breaks out and everyone is shouting in protest. Umi wants to say something as well, but her position only allows for her to stay silent and abide to any decision being made. Kotori winces but stands confidently with her decision.

The Exalt silences everyone by standing up to turn to her daughter. "… Kotori, you understand how important and dangerous that is, right?"

"I… I… yes, of course. But Mother, I've been training under Captain Ayase for the past few years. I'm a full-fledged Pegasus Knight and I'm confident in my skills." Umi admires Kotori's courage, but she's worried, she's worried about the–her Princess.

She takes a step forward, but a gauntlet stops her. She glares at the person next to her, but is met with an icy glare back. "Stand down, Sonoda. Your duty is to the Exalt."

"Captain Ayase-"

"Stand. Down."

Eli's response is curt and Umi holds her tongue. She can see the flash of worry in Eli's eyes. Her shoulders relax and she steps back towards the side. The decision that is made will be up to the Exalt, and Umi must follow with whatever happens.

"… Very well, Kotori. You leave when the sun sets."

The answer makes Umi's heart drop and she finds her gaze now on the floor, there was no way she could stare at her Princess without being worried.

* * *

Umi knocks gently on the stable door before sliding it open as she enters the stable. "… Kotori." She greets the Princess quietly, who is preparing to leave with her Pegasus. She hears a soft giggle and sees Kotori approaching her with a smile.

"Out of all days to call me by my proper name, it's the day I'm leaving." Kotori whispers to her, stepping a lot closer than they have ever been. "I'm scared."

Umi is silent as she brings a hand up, gently taking Kotori's hand within hers. "… I am as well." She mumbles back. Kotori's hand is shaking and Umi squeezes it comfortingly. "… Allow me to be selfish, let me go with you."

She feels Kotori's head touch her shoulder, "You know you need to stay in the Kingdom. Your duty is to my Mother."

"My life belongs to you." Umi says as she tilts her head towards Kotori, gently resting her chin on the crown of her head. "… I will carry out my duty as a Sonoda with pride and determination, but my life will always belong to you." She whispers and gently wraps an arm around Kotori's waist.

She can feel Kotori's breathe against her neck and feels the small quivers shaking through the girl. She tightens her grip protectively in response. "… Tell me all of this when I come back." Kotori whispers as she slightly pulls away from Umi with a small smile, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes.

"I'll come back to save you and the Kingdom." Kotori places a hand gently on her cheek and Umi leans forward. Their lips meet in a gentle kiss.

Umi holds Kotori as long as she can, until she has to let her Princess unfurl her wings to save the Kingdom that they love so much.

* * *

Days has passed since Kotori's departure to the neighboring country and there has been no known movement from the country. It gravely concerns Umi that she ends up distracting herself by losing herself in numerous of patrols and small skirmishes that breaks out in villages outside of the main Kingdom.

However, they are pushed back, and they are left to defend the Kingdom right at their castle walls. Battles break out during all hours of the day and night, and the soldiers start to tire.

Umi ducks as a fire ball flies right by her head. She looks over the brick wall she is hiding behind, and pulls back her bowstring and fires. Her arrow is deadly as always, and instantly kills the mage. However, her cover is blown and thunder magic rains down, breaking the wall and Umi is thrown backwards.

She hears screams of soldiers break out and a screech cuts through the air. Umi wipes the sweat and dirt from her forehead and winces as wyverns fly right over her. She scrambles for her bow and makes a sprint backwards to the Kingdom walls. She stops in her tracks as a wyvern lands right in front of her before she can reach the walls.

Umi grits her teeth and dives to the side as the wyvern rider dips forward, thrusting his spear at her. She notches an arrow onto her bow and is able to fire it–landing right in the neck of the rider but the wyvern is very much alive. The creature snaps its long head around, tossing Umi like a rag doll to the side.

She tumbles onto the ground, a sharp gasp escaping her mouth. She thinks she hears a few cracks from her side, and her arm stings. She tries to grab her bow but a large foot stomps right on it, crushing it instantly.

Her world is starting to blur and she tilts her head upwards. She can only see the sharp teeth of the wyvern coming right towards her to tear through her body.

 _Kotori_ , she thinks, _perhaps we'll see each other now and can spend as much time as we want, together_.

She can't see much, but she hears something crash down on the wyvern, followed by metal piercing right through strong skin and a dying screech. Her eyes close and her world goes dark.

* * *

When she regains consciousness, Umi winces at how bright the light is. The first thing she hears is happy chirps of birds from outside and it takes her a few seconds to breathe in and out deeply.

Is she alive?

Her body aches and every small movement she makes hurts, so she is very much alive. Her gaze sweeps the room and sees numerous of cloth and stuffed animals. She recognizes that she was in…

"Umi?"

The door creaks open and soft footsteps enter the room. Umi's eyes widen as she immediately looks over at the door–amber eyes meeting and flooding with relief. "… Umi…"

"K… Kotori…?"

Umi feels herself enveloped in warmth that overpowers the aches that come from her body. The ashen-gray hair tickles the ends of her nose and she lets out a small breathe, "I… I thought you were dead…"

"I thought _you_ were dead! Why is the _archer_ out in the front lines?" Kotori cries, curling her head up within the crook of Umi's neck. "I'm going to have to talk to Eli about battle tactics."

Umi starts to laugh, that it hurts. "I was just in a bad position at the wrong time." She mutters, resting her head against Kotori's. "I thought I was dead actually. What happened to the wyvern?"

"I killed it. I couldn't let you die." Kotori murmurs against her neck. She pulls away from Umi's neck, placing a hand against the Knight's cheek. "I did say I was going to come back and save you and the kingdom." She smiles and leans forward to press their foreheads together.

Umi tilts her head up, pressing her nose against hers. "My life belongs to you, my Exalt." She whispers and savours the gentle kiss that they share.


End file.
